What is the NFL to do about head injuries? It is a bone of contention that will not go away, and it obviously shouldn’t, not when the health of athletes is on the line. Linebacker DeAndre Levy’s recent suggestion has a lot of people buzzing.
NFL athletes make suggestions all the time, but the one from Levy could have an impact on Redskins betting odds for the season, especially if it is put into practice. If you haven’t heard, Levy participated in a congressional forum constituting members of the House Energy, Commerce, and Judiciary Committees.

The linebacker’s suggestion was that the NFL should eliminate full-contact practices. It matters that an athlete like Levy is bringing this idea to the table because that gives it more weight.

Levy made mention of the fact that he was already aching when he went into the game on Sunday because collisions he encountered on Wednesday and Thursday during practice had left him feeling significantly sore. Read the rest of this entry »

Week Seven could be a make-or-break week for the Washington Redskins’ 2017 Playoff aspirations. Every game is important in a 16-game season – every divisional game even more so. When you’re facing the only team ahead of you in the divisional race, and losing gives them both wins this season and the first tie breaker, it’s pretty safe to say that the Redskins hopes for winning the NFC East this year could very well come down to the result of this early week 7 game. Beating the Eagles won’t guarantee them success, but losing to them could drastically affect the Redskins betting odds of getting to the playoffs via a divisional first place.

That’s no small feat given that the game will be played at Lincoln Financial Field, and the Redskins secondary could potentially have more holes than swiss cheese. Read the rest of this entry »

Huge match up this week for the Redskins as they face their division rivals, and the team between Washington and first place in the NFC East – the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite only being week seven, this is the second time that the Redskins have played the Eagles already this year, with Philly winning on opening day. Losing this game would mean that the Eagles have the critical first tie breaker of head-to-head record.

So Ryan Kerrigan and the entire defense are going to have to find a way to shut down Carson Wentz and the Eagles offense.

Kyle Shanahan must have certainly circled this week’s matchup between his San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins, with a big, fat magic marker. After all, he hasn’t been shy about slinging some passive aggressive mud around, about his time in the nation’s capital. His team is struggling; and he’d like nothing more for those struggles to come to an end at Fed Ex Field on Sunday. Does Shanahan’s return affect the Redskins odds for the next game?

It doesn’t appear so, with the Redskins being given their first ten-plus point spread of the season (11), over the winless 49ers.

Shanahan is in his first year of a six year deal with the 49ers, and they are re-building. Perhaps that gives him a distinct advantage over the two guys that went before him, and only got one year each. One of those guys was current Redskins defensive line coach, Jim Tomsula, and the other was Chip Kelly. That turnaround makes Shanahan the third coach in three years, following a time where Jim Harbaugh was producing winning teams there. Including a team that made it all the way to the Super Bowl. Read the rest of this entry »

Two things were clear at the end of the Redskins game against the Chiefs on Monday night, Washington had not only lost the game, they had lost some personnel as well. The two went hand-in-hand. They will benefit greatly from an early season bye week, as the extra time will obviously allow some injuries to heal enough to play. How those injuries progress will affect the team Washington can field, and subsequently, the Redskins odds for the next game.

With the bye, Washington don’t play again until October 15th against the San Francisco 49ers. The Redskins had this game highlighted on the calendar already, as they will be facing former coach Kyle Shanahan, and it will be Pierre Garcon’s first time back at Fed Ex Field since leaving in the offseason. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite losing a tough one to the Chiefs on Monday Night, the Redskins have seen a marked improvement on the defensive side of the ball under new Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky. Before the injuries piled up against Kansas City, Washington’s defense was playing with the same tenacity that it did against the Raiders.

The Redskins suffered a tough loss to the Chiefs on Monday Night, and given the ridiculous injuries that piled up, it isn’t that hard to understand why a Washington defense that was stuffing Kansas City – suddenly couldn’t.

While there have been mentions of the injuries in many articles, few seem to talk about the collective effect that these injuries had. There were so many that it was hard to follow. Several players went down – only to return; making it even harder to follow.

I have to admit, even though I am used to the fickle nature of NFL fandom, I was quite surprised at the number of people in the twitterverse that were throwing the Redskins under the bus for losing the Monday night game. Not because they lost to a good NFL team – but for failing to recognize some very glaring NFL game facts. Like the injuries the Redskins had to contend with.

I’m just going to take a quick look at the defense and point a few things out. I grabbed the Redskins depth chart from ESPN, and then started making a few annotations. Here is what I came up with.